


Not Another Word

by runwallacerun



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, azula and zuko dont hate each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27061876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runwallacerun/pseuds/runwallacerun
Summary: The more the boy in front of him rambled on, the more annoyed Zuko felt. Of course he was thrilled to find his soulmate but he had been mercilessly teased in middle school and dubbed ‘Bee Boy’ because of this guy. And he was still going!
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 361





	Not Another Word

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [it’s the lack of creativity for me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312005) by [theboilingrock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theboilingrock/pseuds/theboilingrock). 



> Inspired by @theboilingrock 's piece It's the Lack of Creativity For Me (check it out before you read this one, it's great). This is my first attempt at writing for the first time in years, please let me know what you think!

Zuko loved having a soulmate tattoo. 

Well, in theory he did.

As soon as that person comes into your life, from the moment they open their mouth, everything is okay. The spirits have blessed you and from that moment on you life is complete.

The actual tattoo is what Zuko had an issue with.

Why the hell is his soulmate obsessed with bees? Did he own a bee farm? Or was he just some word vomiting idiot that Zuko was supposed to fall in love with?

Azula leaned toward the word vomiting idiot option but Zuko suspected it was because she was scared of finding who her own soulmate was. Who would dare speak to her in such a brazen way the first time they met her? _I don't know whether to be terrified or turned on right now._ She did a great job of pretending that she loved how confident her soulmate must be but he knew she had been forcing Ty Lee to do her hair and a bit of light makeup before she went to her kickboxing tournaments just in case for years.

It was perfect. Azula would meet her match and Zuko was stuck with some freak that couldn’t figure out why bees fly. The bees are dying who cares how they fly?!

As he got dressed one morning, he couldn’t help coming up with another scenario for meeting his soulmate. Maybe one day he’d be in the park admiring flowers. A bee would fly by and he’d be lost in thought looking at the creature collecting pollen and his soulmate would be slightly nervous to approach him and the only thing that would come to mind is bees. And Zuko would smile and say something clever about life making its own rules and they would live happily ever after. 

Who was he kidding. Zuko was far from a wordsmith; his soulmate probably had an ellipse for a tattoo.

A quick glance at the clock spurred him to action and he grabbed his shoes from his closet and rushed out of his room, calling for Azula to get to the car or get left. 

As usual, she was already waiting for him by the front door with a raised eyebrow and smirk. “I think you’re forgetting that I’m the punctual one, brother. Move, I’ll lock the door, just get the car started.”

Zuko did as she requested and soon they were on their way to the local mall. On the other side of the parking lot was the gym Azula trained at and inside the mall was the tea shop his uncle owned. Zuko had taken to working there when his mother had first started forcing Zuko to chauffeur his sister around on the weekends. 

Before the car could even be fully parked, Azula was across the lot calling “I’ll see you in a few hours!” over her shoulder and Zuko was left alone.

He made his way to the tea shop and greeted the open manager with a nod. There were already a few customers starting to trickle in so he got right to work, taking orders and trying to remember to smile. 

Although it wasn’t a particularly busy morning, the time flew by and before he knew it he was getting the ‘can you have my order ready for me I’m heading over” text from Azula. He glanced up at the ever growing table of kids that had yet to order and prayed he could get out before he had to deal with all of them. 

He turned to the machines behind him and began working on a chai latte for Azula and an Americano for himself until he felt a presence behind him at the register. He took a deep breath for patience, knowing it was one of the teens from the table and turned around with a light smile.

Then he almost _died_.

It was like someone had taken his most pleasant memory at the beach and made it into a living breathing person. He was right at Zuko's height and smooth honey colored skin was draped on broad shoulders and defined muscles. His eyes were wide and blue and his mouth was quirked in a small smile. 

Sometimes Zuko liked to guess what other people’s tattoos said. Azula was convinced that her soulmate had the words you should be both etched onto their skin, and Zuko was willing to bet his tips this guy’s tattoo said _you’re gorgeous_ or something similar. 

He gave a small laugh and shuffled his feet and Zuko blinked rapidly to offset the probably awestruck expression from his face. He prayed that he wouldn’t fumble the order and could maybe get his number at the end of the exchange. Everyone is free game until they say they aren’t so maybe he had a chance. 

“According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly.”

Wait.

“It’s wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground.”

It wasn’t a cute walk in the park. It wasn’t a trendy ‘save the bees’ rally. It wasn’t a fun but informative outing to a bee farm. It was just a really cute word vomiting idiot in his uncle’s tea shop. 

Azula was going to have a field day. 

The more the boy in front of him rambled on, the more annoyed Zuko felt. Of course he was thrilled to find his soulmate but he had been mercilessly teased in middle school and dubbed ‘Bee Boy’ because of this guy. And he was still going! Zukos closed his eyes to take a deep breath, this time praying for patience.

“The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don’t care what humans think is impossible.”

He’s not going to stop on his own is he?

“Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black-” 

Zuko finally held out a hand to end his tirade, then pinched the bridge of his nose. His entire inner forearm was covered in red nonsense, but he refused to let his annoyance kill his happiness. He had found his soulmate, bee freak or not.

He arranged his features to be a neutral as he could and began to roll his sleeve up. He watched his soulmate read the words he had just uttered a moment ago and a sheepish expression fell over his face. Zuko couldn’t help but let an amused smile creep across his lips. 

“Hi.”

“That’s all you have to say? Zuzu, I’m disappointed in your creativity.”

Of course his annoying baby sister had to come in and ruin everything. She roughly bumped Zuko out of her way and sized the boy at the counter up before sticking out her hand for a shake. “My name is Azula, this is my brother Zuko. State your name and your intentions toward my brother.”

“Zula!” Zuko hissed in her ear. Sisters are the _worst._

Thankfully the boy looked amused at her antics and shook the offered hand. “Sokka. And my intentions are to hopefully get your brother to start speaking in full sentences.”


End file.
